56 May 2012

More than 400,000 Hong Kong residents visited Taipei last year, according to city officials. While many are

business travellers, increasing numbers are interested in exploring the city’s historical, cu-linary and cultural treasures.

In Hong Kong, there has been a renaissance of interest in Taipei – and Taiwan in general. Last year, the John Woo historical epic Seediq Bale ignited interest in Taiwan’s aboriginal culture.

While Taiwan’s rugged natural beauty and historic temple cities such as Tainan have long

been on the tourist trail, there has been less of an inter-est in Taipei, long considered an unexciting commercial capital.

However, city authorities have worked hard over the past two decades to create a more vibrant and diverse metropolis. The arts scene has become much more interesting of late, with institutions such as the Museum of Contemporary Art offering provocative, cut-ting-edge exhibitions.

The Taipei Fine Arts Museum – not to be confused with the National Taiwan Museum

of Fine Arts in Taichung – has presented exhibitions by dissident

mainland artist Ai Weiwei as well as its popular displays of Western masters

such as Paul Gauguin and Claude Monet.The pinnacle of visual artistic expression

remains, of course, the National Palace Mu-seum, representing 5,000 years of Chinese cultural artefacts. Insanely busy to the point where some treasures such as the 19th centu-ry Jadeite Cabbage may be glimpsed for only seconds, the museum remains a must-see.

Another popular destination is the Taipei

Tantalizing Taipei The island's capital is a popular destination but visitors can find hidden gems. Institute member Honnus Cheung, CFO of Travelzoo Asia Pacific, wanders its streets

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Where to eat�•���AoBa This Taiwanese chain has been

around for 48 years. 10 Lane 105, Section 1, Zhongshan North Road, Zhongshan District. 2571-3859.

• Hawji Tan-Zai Traditional noodles with awesome sides such as wine-steeped eggs and salted pig’s liver. 79-83 Jilin Road, Zhongshan District. 2523-5115.

•� �Shin Yeh Innovative development of Taiwanese cuisine. 34-1 Shuangcheng Street, Zhongshan District (four other locations). 2596-3255.

•� �Tainan Du Xiao Yue Danzi Noodle shop famous for its meat sauce and shrimp-head stock. 12 Alley 8, Lane 216, Zhongxiao East Road Sec. 4, Daan District. 2773-1244.

Where to stay•� �Airline Inn Taipei Affordable site

amid fashion and foodie district. 144 Zhonghua Road Sec. 1, Ximen District. 2388-2466.

• Grand Hyatt Taipei Serious business accommodation near the Taipei 101 Tower. 2 Songshou Road, Xinyi District. 2720-1234.

•� �Spring City Resort Thermal retreat close to the Ketalagan aboriginal area. 18 Youya Road, Beitou District. 2897-2345.

•� �W Taipei Modern luxury in a busy location. 10 Zhongxiao East Road Sec. 5, Xinyi District. 7703-8888.

What to see•� �Taipei Confucius Temple The current

structure was completed in 1939. 275 Dalong Street, Datong District.

2592-3934.•� �National Palace Museum Intensely

crowded but breathtaking display of five millennia of arts and culture. 221 Zhishan Road, Shilin District. 2881-2021.

•� �Taipei 101 Tower The iconic skyscraper has an observatory open daily. Admission fee NT$450. 89/F, 7 Hsinyi Road Sec. 5, Xinyi District. 8101-8899.

•� �Taipei Fine Arts Museum A diversity of works in oils, watercolours and ink-wash. 181 Zhongshan North Road Sec. 3, Zhongshan District. 2595-7656.

May 2012 57

Previous page: The entrance to the National Palace Museum; chou doufu from the Raohe Night Market. This page (from top): An exhibit in the Museum of Contemporary Art; a stretch of the redeveloped riverfront; the iconic Taipei 101 Tower

Business travel

Confucius Temple in Datong district. Completed in 1939, this striking architectural oddity replaced a building from the 1880s torn down by the invading Japanese. It has incorporated modern multimedia exhibitions to explain the theories of China’s most famous philosopher.

Taiwan’s compactness means that many rural at-tractions are close to Taipei. While the Tatun Moun-tains north of the city are volcanic in origin, tectonic disturbances have subsided. However, geothermal activity remains, creating many natural hot springs.

Several, including Beitou, Wulai and Yang-mingshan, are within an hour’s drive of downtown Taipei. Beitou is home to the Taiwan Folk Arts Mu-seum, while Wulai is Taipei’s only aboriginal moun-tain village. Yangmingshan, meanwhile, features Japanese architecture from the colonial period.

Taiwan has a rich and extensive local cuisine en-hanced by the arrival of communities from Fujian and other Chinese provinces. Pig-blood cakes, cold stewed trotters and green-tea croissants are just some of the popular foods found in Taipei.

The city has an extensive noodle culture and popular local varieties include hsinchu, danzi and o ami suann. Street food markets enliven the evenings in most Taipei neighbourhoods. One fine example is Raohe Night Market in Songshan District, a pocket-sized slice of heaven that features a stunning array of foods sold from shops, stalls and carts, including the famous fermented chou doufu (stinky tofu).

Of course, Taipei has an abundance of “pearl” or “bubble” tea sellers. This Taiwan specialty is flavoured tea (often with milk) mixed with boiled tapioca balls to give it texture. Though now found worldwide, aficionados say there’s nothing like tasting bubble teas on their home ground.

Not all Taipei foods and beverages have to be dramatic, however. The city has hopped onto the coffee bean bandwagon in recent years and last month, Franz, a porcelain manufacturer, opened a coffee house in the south wing of the Taipei Fine Arts Museum.

Taipei has an extensive public transport net-work. The city’s MRT, or underground rail system, is clean and modern – eating or drinking on MRT trains is forbidden, just as in Hong Kong – while com-muter services offer easy access to the rustic port of Jilong (Keelung) and nearby cities such as Hsinchu.

Meanwhile, Taiwan High Speed Rail Corpora-tion runs 300 kilometres-per-hour expresses to Kaohsiung, Taiwan’s second largest city, in less than two hours.

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